Category Archives: Spiritual Journey

Planning is good because it sets events in motion, gets you & others organised & makes you take action

On the road of spiritual development, there is this tension between the desire to plot and plan and relaxing into trusting the universe that life will provide.

Planning

The need to plan is an aspect of the conscious mind that is important yet can become a dominating force on your life and therefore get in the way of your full potential. The conscious mind plots and tends to hold on tight to how things are going to be. It creates an unhappy tension when things do not happen as you imagined them in your fantasy of the future. Your conscious mind may deem the outcome a failure or unsuccessful because your imagining was not exactly like the end result.

Planning is good because it sets events in motion, gets you and others organised and makes you take action. It sets intention and by having goals you can sustain that intention throughout the process.To be too rigid about how things will unfold may get in the way of the flow. It may be a more convoluted road than you thought. In your experience when did anything you start end up as you imagined it? In my experience I cannot think of anything that has worked out exactly as I planned.

Trust

Once the plan is set in motion and the energy begins to flow, a universal machine moves into action behind the scenes to create what you planned. Many things need to come together to make this happen and that may not be as straight forward as you had in mind.

This is where trust is important. Once you have your plan, relax rather than be tense and rigid about how it unfolds. Listen to your intuition, notice the signs life gives you to alter things, take guidance from many sources and above all trust that the universe unfolds just as it must for everyone’s higher good.This is something the subconscious mind can do to serve you. It is open and sensitive to what the universe is saying. It has no investment in the outcome like the conscious mind does. To the subconscious there is only the flow of being.

Happy Tension

This is a hard thing for the conscious mind to do because it has to relinquish control. It is the balance between the conscious and subconscious that creates a happy tension that leads to success. Conscious mind dominance often leads to stress, anxiety and exasperation. Subconscious dominance often leads to floating along rarely achieving anything. Get the balance right and you have a happy tension between planning and going with the flow, control and trust, personal power and universal power, human energy and spirit energy.

When we created Avis and Brown we had a fantasy of how that would look. As the journey has unfolded it has not worked out as planned. The context has been far larger than I imagined, much more beautiful and infinitely more fulfilling. It has also been far more challenging, the learning exceptional and the outcomes humbling. The conscious mind can see only so far. The universe sees all. The subconscious connects to that universal vision and it is that we must learn to trust as well as our own ability and potential.

In my experience there are three schools of thought around the spiritual path. There are those that embrace it, those that disregard it and those that are undecided. The people who embrace it feel comfortable communicating with electromagnetic energy and the spirit world. Often they are people who have been able to do it all their lives. Perhaps they embraced it at an early age. There are many who try to ignore the communication when they are young and come back to it later in life. There are others who make it a life- long denial. Whichever camp they fall in, these people are very intuitive and sensitive to the energy of people and places around them. Somehow their minds are wired to be sensitive to the electromagnetic energy of the world around them and they sense things that other people do not feel. They are more tuned into their subconscious, left brain, the part that is sensitive to electromagnetic energy and the messages it conveys. The more they use this innate skill, the more powerful these skills become. At the opposite end of the spectrum are those that disregard it. Often they are not sensitive to the electromagnetic energy of the world around them. They are very right- brained, logic driven people who look for reason in all that they do. Because they are not consciously sensitive to electromagnetic energy, to them the world of insights, intuition and spirit does not exist and so they dismiss it when people talk about it. Then there is the range of people who are open- minded enough to consider the evidence available that points to the fact that electromagnetic energy communicates with us in the physical world all the time in the form of insights, intuition, signs and spirit interactions. It is to these undecided people who are open to the idea of spirit, yet may be sceptical of it, that this blog is addressed.

A healthy scepticism

I fall into this latter category. I have been drawn to spirituality all my life. Ever since my elder brother spoke to me when I was a young child of philosophy, spirituality and psychology, I have been fascinated by the power of the human mind and how we interact with the world around us. I have been drawn to study many global religions, traditions and cultures as well as native traditions from America, Australia and Africa and found that they have a huge amount in common with the Islam, Judaism, Christianity (the Abrahamic religions), Hinduism, Taoism and Buddhism with regard to the structure of the universe and the nature of spirituality. To me they say the same things in different ways and I fail to understand why they argue over what is fundamentally the same truth. Religion is not the sole custodian of spiritual teaching. In fact much of religion has no spiritual relevance at all. Spirituality cannot be limited to any particular religion or teaching. Even my beloved science, which I had carved a career in at Cambridge in Biochemistry and Neuroscience, talked about Quantum Physics and the parallels with spiritual teachings throughout the world. All kinds of books such as The Tao of Physics, The Field, The Holographic Universe, Blackfoot Physics, The Dancing Wu Li Masters and our own Nourish the Flame Within discuss this science- spirituality connection.

Intellectual Spirituality

I have been exposed to an intellectual spirituality, as many people have in our modern world, with dashings of experience that tell me my intellect is pointing in the right direction. There is simply too much evidence as far as I am concerned for there not to be an electromagnetic and spirit world with which we interact and communicate.

Yet how can it be proved? This is where the intellect must take a leap of faith and build some trust. It is precisely this fact that makes the open- minded person sceptical, suspicious that they will be taken for a ride, duped, have the wool pulled over their eyes and taken advantage of. Indeed, the profession of spirituality is full of charlatans that prey on the needy and the hopeful. This is not Spirituality. Every profession is full of those with integrity and those that want to make a quick fortune at any cost. Choose carefully. Making a poor choice does not negate the electromagnetic, spirit world and the power and validity of intuition and insight. It simply undermines your trust. Finding good teachers will deepen your trust in something that you intuitively know to be true. At least, this is the experience I have had. We also have the throw- back to witch hunts and the fear Religion has instilled in its congregations that plague our consciousness as a society and inform our prejudice and scepticism. All of these historic episodes influence our conscious acceptance of a spirit world. There is mounting scientific evidence to support these notions that people throughout time have experienced.

The Limitations of a Conscious Mind

The conscious mind is a powerful tool, trained to think, analyse, consider and ponder endlessly, from the moment it wakes up to the second it falls asleep. No matter how hard you try to use it to connect to the higher vibrations of electromagnetic energy, it will not happen. The subconscious mind holds the tools to connecting to these higher vibrations of electromagnetic energy. It is your ability to consciously listen to the subconscious that requires cultivation. To experience spirituality, you have to place the conscious mind aside and feel it through your subconscious senses. Meditation, contemplation and prayer are three ways in which you can calm the conscious mind and develop the skill of listening to whatever the subconscious is picking up from the electromagnetic information all around you. There are many other ways as well, including drumming, Reiki, dancing and movement, chanting and singing, sound and silence to name a few.

Which path should you take?

The path you are drawn to take- the kind of answer the conscious mind hates because it is too vague. You can only truly answer it with your subconscious mind, through hunches, insights and intuitions that guide you through your life. There are as many paths as there are people in the world, as each person takes an individual journey that brings them closer to the truth. My journey is unlike any other person’s path. We may walk with people for a while (teachers, mentors and guides). Ultimately, it is each person’s responsibility to discover their journey, using the full power of the brain, both conscious and subconscious, as well as the intellect, intuition, intention and choice to find the way.

Humanity is connected through a network that may be thought of as The Tree of Life

Many spiritual traditions speak of the Tree of Life. For example, the Bible speaks of it in Eden, in Islam it is known as the Lode Tree and of course Buddha sat beneath the Bodhi Tree where he attained his great enlightenment. The tree is a powerful metaphor and archetype throughout spiritual teachings and I have wondered why that is for some time.

Recently, I had a meditation experience that may have answered the question for me. I never say that things are answered for sure, as certainty stops questioning and the potential for growth and learning. Yet it fits in so many ways and I feel strongly that it speaks of the truth.

I was practicing one of the spiritual connection meditations from our book, Nourish the Flame Within, specifically the third in the first series, Connection to the God Force. My experience was that I was a leaf on a tree and that if I allowed my awareness to remain restricted, I was only concerned with my own world and my limited perception. As I allowed my awareness to expand, I became aware of the leaves around me (perhaps a metaphor for family and friends?). Later, my awareness spread to the smaller branches and then the larger ones. It felt like I was connected to community and nation. Eventually, my attention spread to the trunk, the concept of Humanity. Fully aware, I could feel the flow of energy from leaf to trunk and back again, sensing my place and role in Humanity, nation, community and self. It was an amazing experience.

So, the Tree of Life, or the Tree of Humanity, shows that we are an inter- connected whole, each of us playing a significant role. Each one of us feeds the whole and is fed by the whole. Just as the leaf turns sunlight into food for the tree and the tree brings nutrients and water from the ground through the trunk and branches to the leaf, your very existence fuels humanity, while humanity gives you what you need to be your full and magnificent self. Actions of the individual affect all of humanity. This is how a tree works. This is how humanity works. Even though you may not know what good or harm you are doing spiritually, you are affecting things in a small and significant way.

Beyond that, the metaphor allows us to see how broadly the Tree of Humanity is inter- connected to the Universal Whole. Nothing exists in isolation. Water and nutrients in the soil are drawn up by the tree, while ultra violet light from the sun is used to create food in the leaf. Every cell of the entire tree benefits from this two- way relationship. Spiritually we are the same. We are nothing without the power from the earth and the sun. We are diminished versions of ourselves if we isolate ourselves from the Universal Energy of White Light. We are nothing without each other collectively.

Many spiritual teachings show us that an act of kindness is kind to all humanity and that an act of hatred and fear affects all humanity. I am beginning to understand this wisdom. It is easy to become disconnected again after the meditation. The truth is you are always connected, to humanity, the planet and the universe. The meditation is an invitation to become sensitive to this truth and carry it with you throughout your day, to inform all your actions, decisions and thoughts. So many of us seek peace in society and in our own hearts. Perhaps this is one of ways in which we can bring peace to ourselves and those around us. In time it will spread. For now, let us begin with a simple meditation, which starts with a simple breath and an invitation to connect to White Light.

Electromagnetism is a powerful force in the universe. How can we learn its secrets?

As we approach the turning of the year, we contemplate the past and what the future will hold more than usual. This is why we are reminded of the god of the Ancient Greek pantheon, Janus, for whom January is named. According to Crystal Links “Janus was frequently used to symbolize change and transitions such as the progression of past to future, of one condition to another, of one vision to another, and of one universe to another.”

This year has been an incredible journey on the road of energy for me, with insights and revelations that have been astonishing. I would like to share one with you now that is particularly relevant to Janus’ symbolism of transition: from one condition and vision to another.

In researching for our books I have been overwhelmed with the detail of science that I have learned. In boiling it down to its simplest and most important terms for spiritual growth, electromagnetism (EM) is the thing I have been focussing on most. It is from EM that everything stems. It is one of the most important building forces of our universe, how it develops and evolves, how we interact and relate to it and how we connect to and empathise with each other.

To fully appreciate the significance of EM and how it shapes our lives, we need to take on a new vision, see things from a different perspective and come to understand the true condition of the human experience.

EM is the force that connects negatively charged electrons to the positively charged nucleus of an atom. It is this relationship that marks the individual chemistry of every atom and allows atoms to connect together to form molecules. EM generates fields of energy that vibrate at particular frequencies. Fields from atoms merge and become congruent to create molecules, yet the atoms retain their individual nature. Fields of smaller molecules merge and become congruent to create larger molecules. The more atoms are grouped together the larger their accumulated field, whether it is a cell, mountain, tree, planet, human or star. Yet, no matter how large the group, each individual part retains its nature as well as contributes to the whole.

The basic chemistry is the same and EM is a common force between them. EM plays a role in all interactions between atoms, generating fields of energy, whether alive or not. People, animals, buildings, landscapes all have a unique EM signature that can be felt.

There is a phenomenal amount of EM information for anyone to process in the world around us. Even in remote nature every leaf and blade of grass gives off some EM information. The message is much noisier in city life with electricity, TV, radio and wi- fi signals all complicating the EM information. EM is felt through the intuitive senses of the subconscious far more sensitively than with the conscious part of the mind.This means we are often not aware of the immense amount of information available to us.

As a society, we are mostly focussed on the primary qualities of the conscious mind: logic, reason, words, maths and the rational. This only explains a small portion of the human experience. There are so many experiences and events that can be explained by an awareness of the subconscious mind whose qualities are less well acknowledged, given less importance and are often mistrusted: intuition, imagination, creativity and insight. One of the reasons the subconscious is better at processing EM signatures is because the subconscious can process around twenty million pieces of information a second. In comparison, the conscious mind can process forty pieces of information. As a species in general, if we can cultivate a more powerful subconscious awareness, we would be better placed tointerpret the information within these fields.

What I would hope for in this coming year and for the future is a focus on a new vision and a new condition of being. Let’s begin to explore the power of the subconscious more openly. There are so many ways to make that subconscious connection, from meditation to mindfulness and Reiki and martial arts to prayer and contemplation.

Whatever methods we use, they allow us to learn and trust that subconscious voice of insight, intuition and creativity. In turn we can become more aware of a more beautiful and infinitely more complex universe that we are able to interact with, relate to and understand in a way that will bring more peace and harmony to humanity and the world.

As we look back at the past and ahead to the future as Janus, the two- headed god, can do, let us learn to combine the power of both sides of our minds. Rather than through mindless habit use our minds to direct our lives let’s learn to distinguish between the respective skills of the conscious and subconscious and so actively choose which one sits in the driver’s seat of our lives at each moment and harness our greatest gift to do great good in the world and make a positive difference in 2017 and beyond.

I would like to wish you a very merry Christmas. I would like to thank you so much for reading and supporting our blogs over the years. David and I started writing our blog to support our book “Nourish the Flame within” . That book was published in 2012 and that seems like such a long time ago. Next year I hope to publish my second book and I am currently writing my third. So there are lots of exciting things ahead in 2017 for both myself and I hope my readers too.

I have to say that this last year has been something of a challenge for me personally. I have had many of life’s little difficulties thrown in my direction. Life is life and we have to expect these things in our diection from time to time. Where would we be without a challenge or two to stir things up? We are all human and walk a human path, with human experience. Sometimes those experiences will either make or break us.

We can never know exactly what will come our way in life. The spiritual take on experience is that ultimately all experience is good as it allows our soul to grow. I think experience develops us in many ways. Experience allows us to stretch through endeavour and misfortune. Experiencing negative things can be testing and hard to endure. I won’t pretend that people don’t suffer through experience as they often suffer a great deal.

Suffering is a part of life as is happiness and pleasure. It is the other side of the coin. Life has opposites. Each person experiences many things both positive and negative good and bad. It is the mix of experience that ultimately shapes the person. People are not static beings they learn through endeavour, circumstance and experience. However, I know that many people are broken by hard circumstances.

Compassion is an ingredient of the Christmas spirit. Christ taught us to be compassionate. I personally find it very difficult to walk past any homeless person without emptying my purse of change and more. I do not like to see people with a lack of warmth, food and shelter at any time of the year let alone at this, the coldest and most miserable weather wise. We have many homeless people in Britain. Homelessness is not restricted to our country it affects many people all over the world.

Young people who find themselves living on the streets at an early age will be more likely to die an early death. There is a part of my being that does not find this acceptable. When I pass a homeless person I wonder what brought them to that point in their life. Homelessness makes my heart sink. Society makes my heart sink. So many of the young people who find themselves homeless and living on the streets have fled abusive or violent homes and the streets as hard as they are seem preferable to what they leave behind. Isn’t that horrible, isn’t that terrible?

I understand that there will always be a small portion of people, who do not fare well at parenting for many reasons, but children are a blessing to us all a gift from life and deserve the best love and nurturing that society and parents can give. They are the next generation. People and life are both very precious things. Each person and each life offers potential to society.

Homelessness seems to be a large and difficult problem. So once again this year in the bleakest mid winter weather there are too many people living on the streets trying to survive the night, the week the month and the season? I know that many of you will give as I do, help where you can, to these desperate people. Everyone deserves to have love, respect and a roof over their heads.

Lack of money and lack of housing is a difficult issue to address. We can all send our love to the homeless this Christmas. We can all send out our good thoughts and prayers. Thoughts and prayers are energy and energy can move mountains. As a collective energy force we impact and change life. Some people think that thoughts and prayers do nothing. This is not true they connect us to each other in a direct way. They connect us to the power of the universe. I am so fed up with walking through our city streets and seeing so many people living on the streets. If we really wanted an end to it I am sure there would be an end to this situation. I think the issue of the homeless in Britain 2016, is a disgrace to us all. I would like to wish all who find themselves homeless this Christmas joy, happiness and a roof over your heads in 2017.

On a lighter note, I would like to wish you the warmest of Christmas greetings. I hope that Santa brings you all of your Christmas wishes, and may the angels walk through life with you.

Eventually, like the electron, your energy reaches such a level that you are able to break free of the confines of your human embodied experience

Many spiritual practices speak of the idea that what you give out you will receive. Another way of saying it might be energy flows in cycles. Have you experienced that abundance leads to abundance? Love works this way. The more loving you are, the more love you receive. Your giving is loving and so people cannot help but be loving in return. It does not always work out that way. Sometimes your generosity is occasionally met with dishonesty, greed and selfishness. That is how it can be when people have free choice.

The Evidence of Science

By way of supporting evidence, this state of seeking balance and equilibrium is seen throughout nature, even at the atomic level. The subtle energy of which we speak in our blogs and books is electromagnetic energy, in part created by the electrons that exist in all atoms in the universe. Electrons occupy shells in an atom. There are many shells and the electrons in a specific shell have a particular energy level. The shell closest to the centre of the atom, the nucleus, has the lowest energy level of all and the shell furthest from the centre is at the highest energy. Any higher than that, and the electron escapes from the atom and is free. For electrons to move from shell to shell requires an input of energy or a release of energy. An input energises an electron and gives it more energy, allowing it to move into shells further from the centre. A release of energy means the electron loses energy and it moves to a less energized shell.

This process of giving and taking energy is happening all the time, recycling energy throughout the universe. The output of energy leaves things open for an input of energy. In nature, there is no lack, there is no thought of lack. The universe is such that there is no lack. Everything is as it should be, all in balance and working around a balanced centre and equilibrium point. An atom does not hold on to energy, neither does an electron in the atom. To get more energy, it has to give it away, so that the energy keeps flowing and recycling. Atoms and electrons draw their energy from the space around them and work with whatever is available. This is why the universe is so dynamic and creative. Atoms and electrons are capable of great potential. It is their environment that determines how fully they are able to express that potential.

You Cycle Energy with the Environment

This model is true for all things in the universe. We humans are no different. You have the choice to place your self in whatever environment you choose. You have the ability to decide what mind- set you have in any given moment. You have the power to use intention and use your thought to create your reality.

You may have the sense that you need to hold on to things, to horde so that you can accumulate. However, spiritual teachings say that you want to set things free, have an abundance mind- set, which allows you to act from a place of knowing that you already have all that you need. This opens the channels to greater abundance. To give away, you have to open the gateway, and in passing things out through the gateway, you leave the gateway open and create the space for more to come in. This seems counter intuitive and yet experience will tell you otherwise. Generosity of time, money and my knowledge or experience has always led to more coming back to me in so many different forms. Energy manifests in many ways and so abundance expresses itself in many forms.

Growing Energy, Deepening Enlightenment

As you grow in energy, you vibrate at a different frequency. You become spiritually more enlightened, in stages, just like the electron passing through the shells of the atom. The more energized you become, the more things you are capable of doing that you couldn’t do before. The more energized you become, the more you see, experience and feel. The key is to keep giving your energy away so that you are open to be filled again and more fully than before. As you give, you expand your capacity to accept more. It is the generosity of spirit that leaves space for more energy to replace it as the energy recycles again and again and again. Holding on to things only guarantees the slow leaking and stagnating of energy that leaves you depleted, tired and afraid. Instead, place your self in environments that energise you, allow you to give your energy away freely so that you can give it away without fear, knowing it will be replenished a thousand fold. Surround your self with friends, places, books, courses, family, animals, activities and entertainment that energise you and feed your energy levels. In time, you will realise that this is the natural state for all and all moments will feed you and contribute to your growth and development.

A word of warning. Beware of those that leech your energy that leave you drained and weak. Be mindful of situations that leave you disempowered. To give your energy away then is to be prey to vampires. Steer clear of them as best you can and learn to know what these people and places feel like so that you avoid them as much as possible.

Free from Confinement

Eventually, like the electron, your energy is at such a level that you are able to break free of the confines of your human embodied experience. This might happen in meditation or when you are doing movement, music or singing in a ritualized way. It happens to you every night when you sleep and you sail away in dreams. What I am suggesting is a purposeful journey towards greater enlightenment. In other words, keep recharging the body with the energy of the universe that is so abundant and that can make you fully alive and connected to all things. When you break free you realise that you are part of the whole, free of the false perception of separation and fully cognisant of the interconnection amongst everything, that leaves you fully and freely loving, compassionate, generous and whole. Here you are beyond fear. Pain is an accepted part of life as is joy, able to accept both with equal grace.

Over to you

As ever we would love to hear about your spiritual quest for freedom. What has worked for you? What advice would you offer others? What has been your experience of spiritual freedom? Please post your comments below and be part of the conversation.

Why not buy the book?

If you have liked this post and want to know more about energy, science and their link with the spiritual journey, you can buy our book, Nourish the Flame Within. Please click here for more details. Lynette’s book, Feel the Power, will take you on a deeper journey than Nourish the Flame Within and is written and ready for publication in 2017.

Connection is one of the keys to spirituality. You cannot truly connect unless you open your heart and mind to another- we call it empathy. It is about seeing some one where they really are, how they are truly being in that moment and feeling that in our self- the pain, love, sorrow and joy.

This connection breeds compassion, an understanding that allows healing and forgiving. You practise this on one another and you can practise it on your self.

Everything is a reflection. Seeing pain in others when you are connected brings about pain in your self. Witnessing joy in others when you are connected ignites joy within you. I think we should be prepared to go either route for life is full of both.

To become aware of this connection makes you think twice before you act. It has that affect on me- I may do it anyway, and then it is a more thoughtful, mindful act. It may cause pain and then my apology is more heart felt and genuine because I felt it more deeply.

Seeing things as energy breaks down the imaginary boundaries between them. Without boundaries we are naked, raw and vulnerable. Without boundaries we are reflections of each other in real time- we bleed together, cry together, laugh together and dance together. This is humanity living together in the great River of Life.

When I was a child, I went on a school trip into London. On the underground I saw a tramp on a platform and in my naivety I stood staring at him. A business man saw me do it and said to me “we did that to him”. I felt terrible, guilty and sad. To this day I do not know what he truly meant by that. Perhaps now I have an answer- that without connection, how can we ever hope to help our self and each other and make the world a better place? And, in the tradition of all self growth, the answer becomes another question.

I saw Spotlight recently, a movie about the tale of The Boston Globe’s exposure of child abuse in the church in the late twentieth century. So sad to think these men of power did so much harm. Men who are supposed to be connected to God and doing God’s work, just as Islamic suicide bombers claim to be connected to God and doing God’s work. In my opinion this is the opposite of connection for no connected human being could do this. Why? Because they would feel the pain they cause. The reflected mirror would seer their eyes, burn their hearts and their ears would shatter at the sounds of the screams of pain, guilt and anger. No, these are empassioned people on a crusade not thinking about how their actions are hurting themselves and the world.

And so I ask you not to put your hearts and souls into the hands of people you presume and expect to have your best interests at heart. Instead, be discerning, let your connection and intuition lead you to make insightful decisions regarding your spiritual health and well- being.

Spiritually, we are meant to be unified, we are meant to think and act with the whole in mind.

I wrote this minutes after finding out the result of the UK Referendum to remain in the European Union. The decision to leave has had wide- spread ramifications for Great Britain and the world already. These outcomes will continue to unfold for months and years ahead, and I trust that the politicians, economists, financial houses, businesses and individuals will make the best of it, in that we will find a way forward that will be to the benefit of all sides.

I voted to remain. It was a spiritual decision. Spiritually, we are meant to be unified, we are meant to think and act with the whole in mind. Every spiritual path, be it within religion or not, teaches and demonstrates that we are part of an indivisible whole. Science, with it’s theory of Big Bang, acknowledges that the entire universe came from a single point in space and time and that nothing new has been created since- the energy is just recycling. This is the rhythm and cycle of existence.

In the UK, it seems that there is some concern with the challenges that come with European unification. Of course it is challenging to live in harmony with other people and nations that think differently, want different things and act in different ways. This is part of the struggle of being human, to find a way to hear all that must be heard and respond in a way that all peoples feel respected, cherished and honoured.

While people only think short term and do not take the larger view, separation will always appear like the better option. It comes with its own challenges. Separation and Union both bring their own difficulties. Separation weakens the whole. It is seeded in fear and I think we need to be more courageous than that, globally, nationally, regionally and individually. Union requires a totally different mind- set. To care for our brothers and sisters, to unite the energy that feeds and sustains us. Once people feel cared for and heard, healed and empowered, that mind- set will have already taken a huge shift. Until then, as individuals, we must do what we can to unify our lives, so that we can demonstrate the power of living in love. This is the message of every spiritual leader: Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad, Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Ang Sang Su Shi.

I hope that whatever the UK and the world do from this point on, we will find a way to create greater union across all nations. I do not want to sound like some naïve new- ager. I am not one, for I know that the road ahead will be challenging, not because it has to be, but because to change hearts and minds is hard when they are driven by fear and a sense of lack. It will take a lot of internal work, that many of us are reluctant to do at the best of times, to shift towards love and abundance. When we do, and the tide is changing in spite of what this vote may or may not imply, the healing and Union will pick up pace.

There is a peace and tranquility that lies beneath the turmoil of surface level existence

One of the privileges of living in Cambridge, England, is King’s College and its chapel. You may have heard about the choir that performs there throughout the academic year, particularly at Christmas and Even Song service on Sundays?

Recently we went to this Even Song service and enjoyed the power this opportunity for contemplation offered. I went along without the expectation of following the service, but rather to experience the sound of the choir. My experience with energy has shown me that part of the reason hymns, psalms and services are sung in the manner that they are, is because the energy of the sound takes you beyond the surface level thinking of the conscious mind and deeper into the calm pool of the subconscious, towards a meditative state. You have to let the sounds wash over you and you feel the calmness take over as the service progresses. This service did not disappoint. The voices and the acoustics worked their magic beautifully. I had to stop myself listening to the words so that I could be affected by the primal power of vibration and rhythm.

For me it was a struggle as my conscious mind latched on to words it recognised. I had to remind my self to let go of the meaning and feel the experience of the sound on my soul. It was beautiful. Towards the end of the service I did listen to the words and they were so much more beautiful when heard from this place of calm and serenity. Couple this feeling with the visual experience of the vaulted ceilings and stained- glass windows and the ethereal became real.

The combined affect was to calm the anxious soul and to remind me that there is a peace and tranquility that lies beneath the turmoil of surface level existence, if only I’d give myself the chance. This Sunday service was my chance. I believe all services, be they Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Pagan or whatever are a chance to reconnect to the Source of our Being. Call that Source God, Spirit, energy or whatever, the reconnection boosts your strength and resolve to do good, be good and have trust and faith. I believe yoga, martial arts, meditation, fasting, dancing, chanting or drumming for spiritual rituals strive for the same reconnection to the Source which is the essence of spiritual practice.

At last, I felt the connection between religion and spirituality. Religion I saw in the service, the vestments, the buildings and the prayers. Spirituality I experienced in the words, cadences, rhythms and sounds of all that religious metaphor. It was transporting. And where did it take me? To myself and to the Source. Perhaps that is the point of religion? Perhaps I should have learned that at Sunday school?

If you would like to attend choral evensong, here is an article by Rupert Sheldrake who was involved in the creation of a website called Choral Evensong allowing you to find church services with free choral music across the British Isles.

There are many books on the market that talk about the mind and body connection or the mind and life connection. Books such as the Secret and authors such as Louise Hay have used and shared this mind- life, mind- body understanding. Hypnotherapy is a practice that centres on those connections and uses them for the benefit of the client’s health and well-being. The connection between mind and body and mind and life is very well understood by health and well-being professionals.

We also have a connection to the Universe. We are the Universe. We are not separate from the Universe. Every moment of every day we have a profound connection to the totality of the Universe. If you consider yourself separate from the Universe please answer this. Where did you come from? What made you? What are you made from?

You are energy

You are energy through and through. You are made of the stuff of the universal stars. You are no different to them. You have your place amongst them. They are energy and so too are you. The Universe came into being a long time ago and we can say it has a life of its own. It too lives and breathes as you do. Stars come and they go. The Universe experiments with energy on many levels, life forms come and go depending on how successful they are within the universal experiment. You are made of the stuff of the stars. The universe created you to live and breathe. It created you to live a life. Life can be challenging. Many things both good and bad happen within a life. People cross each other’s paths, sometimes those meetings and crossing are good and happy ones with fulfilling outcomes. Other times they are not so. If they are considered good or bad it will depend on the view points and agendas of those doing the analysis. Each person has free will and choice. Each person has a mind of their own. Each person has thought patterns and processes. These thought patterns and processes are unique to the individual. The individual ultimately gets to choose how they think. Their thought processes help them to make sense of the world and understand it to a degree.

Your life influence

It is not commonly understood by the general public that there is a mind connection with life itself. We think from the point of view that thinking and action will bring about a result. It is true that thinking, decision and action will do that. Results will be gained efficiently by using thinking decision and action and should not be underestimated as it plays an important role in taking the individual forward in a chosen direction. However what is not as easily understood by people in general is that they have another field of influence upon life. This is an energetic one. We can bring situations or people in our direction by our energetic connection to life and the Universe on all levels.

The Universe thinks and heals itself

The Universe is a thing. It lives, breaths and thinks. It has consciousness throughout. Human beings are also energy with consciousness. We too are energy that thinks. It is like two heart beats, the universal heart beat and the human heart beat. They can beat in synchronisation or out of synchronisation. So we can be conscious and energetically in tune with the Universe or out of tune with the Universe.

We all have influence on our lives, the lives of others and our thoughts and decisions through physical interaction, conscious thought and energy interaction and manipulation. There is an energy that permeates the Universe that influences everything. It is the catalyst that fires the Universe on all and every level. This energy is called Universal energy. It is known by many names and every culture has a name for it. It’s made up physically of a combination of electricity and magnetism. It is electromagnetic energy. It permeates all life on all levels. It is a carrier or information. It carries thoughts, ideas and beliefs around and throughout the Universe. It is a universal telegraph wire. It carries information everywhere. This background energy is known to science and they are calling it “The field”. Esoteric people and healers have called it Universal energy, Chi, Ki, Psychic, and Pranic energy amongst other names. It has been known to man for many thousands of years and the Chinese have understood its healing properties and how to exploit them for five thousand years.

Transferring Universal information

Everything you think and feel is carried into the world as energy. It is carried around the earth and out into the Universe on the back of Universal energy. Your thoughts are transferred through Universal energy to all parts of the Universe. We have all heard of the Aboriginal people of Australia and the fact that they have telepathic abilities. If what I have said holds water and it does, then this is a perfect explanation to those abilities.

You have both connection to and influence upon the Universe. You are part of the Universe and a part that makes up the totality of the Universe. Your thoughts and actions and deeds add to or take away from the Universe. You are important to the Universe. There is a responsibility to the Universe by you to it. Whether you consciously acknowledge that responsibility or not is your free will and choice.

Your Universal life

The Universe acknowledges you and the life it gave you. It will interact with you on many levels. It gave your life to you and in time it will take that life back. How you live that life is your free will and choice. If you interact with the Universe consciously, this is too your free will and choice. It is for you to understand that the choice is yours and you can exercise it at will. The Universe will respond to your thoughts and actions. Not with fire and lightening but with situations, people and circumstance to your ultimate benefit.

Benefit comes in many textures. Some rough and some smooth. What you may feel benefits you may not be the same thought and understanding to the Universe. However, it is not the point of living to give you a hard time to punish you. We are strengthened by being stretched. We always have the Universe’s ear when things are unbearable to us. Speaking your truth, thoughts, wants, needs and desires to the Universe is not seen as selfish but a necessary part of your right and growth. The Universe hears you. A word of caution here: please be careful of what you ask for. Harmful thoughts, deeds, and desires always have repercussions. We are all human and sometimes each of us may fall a little short. This is part of our learning and growth. To set our own boundaries of good and right is a good thing. To understand that our desires affect others is a good thing. To abuse our position in the world is a bad thing. Harm to others deliberately done is not acceptable to the Universe and should not be acceptable to you. Fairness and love is a good starting point in any situation. Selfishness, harshness and greed will not be seen well. You may have selfish and harmful desires in the short term as they may be part of your growth and growth to others. What feels bad to us we seldom engage in twice by choice. Basically what I am saying is this: we grow by experience and sometimes we do not get things correct. No one is perfect, we are perfecting ourselves daily. It also must be said that others feel our energy and thoughts by way of energy and if they feel bad, we will be seen in that light by those who engage with us.

Interacting with the Universe

We can ask the Universe for direct and positive input into our lives, health, and living situations. The Universe responds to those requests. We interact with the Universe every moment of the day and do so largely without conscious thought on the matter. If we give our interaction conscious thought and conscious interaction we have more of an influence upon outcomes.

We think things into being on either an energetic level or a physical level. For anything to come into being it must be preceded by a thought first. When I learnt how to design many decades ago one of the things that were drilled into me by the design process is the fact that change happens by my conscious thought. An idea comes into being by thought first then execution second. Along the way in the execution process the idea can be changed manipulated and honed. It is the same with the manipulation of energy. We have a thought or an idea and that is then communicated to the Universe and then the Universe responds by moving energy to bring it into being.

Whatever you want or wish for and even if it seems impossible; tell the Universe what it is. Ask the Universe to move situations in your direction to bring about the change that you desire. For your life to go in a certain direction you have to bring about the physical change or you have to ask the universe to do it for you. What the Universe will do will show you how to make the change by bringing people, ideas, or situations in your direction. Sometimes and more often than would be supposed it will just drop things in your lap. You can ask for many things from the Universe and material things are amongst those that can be asked for. They will not always be granted but if you don’t ask you probably will not get it unless you physically do it for yourself. The Universe makes the path to what you want and need easier and smoother for you.

Steering your life

You have a life that you can steer in this direction or that, according to your own desires. The Universe has a role in that life as it gave it to you. You are part of the Universe and it has a vested interest in you and your life. Day by day you live and grow and the Universe helps you to do that. It supplies the ingredients for life.

So what are your desires and wishes? Whatever they are as you think them whisper them to the universal forces and ask those forces for a direction toward them. The Universe points the way forward.